Arabs, Muslims, Copts, what defines us?
CAIRO: Only football speaks Egyptian louder than politics, economics and religion.
And as religious chants and slogans, coupled with quasi-pop fanfare music, replace the patriotic songs and speeches of yesteryear, has Egyptian identity been pushed to the symmetrical, yet fanatical confines of a football pitch? Perhaps.
The government does not do anything to strengthen an Egyptian homogeneity says Samer Solieman, Assistant Professor of Political Economy at AUC.
“They do not speak beyond Ahly vs Zamalek games, he told The Daily Star Egypt.
Egypt in the 21st century, bereft of nationalistic spirit and pride in the flag then becomes a cause for worry among many who are calling for political and economic reform.
“When the flag and national anthem start to disappear, there is a weakness in loyalty, Galal Amin, author of ‘Whatever happened to the Egyptians’, said.
A loss of pride, confidence in the system and will to belong to remaining fragments of a culture, have left Egyptians in “identity crisis , wanting to belong to something, anything.
Homogeneity has weakened to allow social structures excluded from the power game to gain supporters from both dominant sides of the religious spectrum making it impossible to disassociate religion from identity.
This is a new phenomenon which did not exist some 50 years ago.
“Egyptians have always practiced a mild form of Islam as part of their daily lives not like Iran, Amin told The Daily Star Egypt.
“Makram Ebeid used to say I am Coptic by religion but Muslim by nation.
Saed Shehata, Lecturer of Middle East politics at the London Metropolitan University, believes this is a result of a build up of the late President Anwar Sadat’s efforts to Islamize Egypt and President Hosni Mubarak’s failure to deal with the result.
Mubarak helped empower the then more moderate Muslim Brotherhood to get rid of the extremist Islamic Jihad and other militant groups.
Amin thinks this extreme religiosity is a reaction to the accumulation of national and economic disappointments.
From the shocking defeat of the 1967 war to the outcomes of industrialization and the pretentious win of the 1973 war, patriotic dreams and aspirations have been deafened by the end of migration to neighboring oil countries.
But Solieman believes while the petrodollar migrations lasted, they helped shape the Egyptian persona.
Instead of influencing our neighbors “we started to dress and behave like them, he said.
“When a country is spending on its people, instead of vice-versa, it is natural to develop a sense of belonging to the former.
Globalization also shook the formal “isms of society (Arabism, African-ism, Mediterranean-ism, and Egyptian-ism) creating a world where economics, not politics, re-defined an Egyptian.
“Globalization hit Egypt at a time when we were in a mess! As if a military defeat and deteriorating economy were not enough.
“It shook Egyptian national pride and confidence causing disappointment! declared Amin.
Those able to cope and with money, regardless of religion, were beneficiaries and thus supporters of Egyptian democracy; those unable to cope, naturally turned to religion because it highlighted differences rather than similarities.
“It started at the bottom and toppled up so now the religious discourse exists at all levels, Amin explained.
But how will this affect non-Muslim communities?
Amin believes that one should not be surprised that Copts will turn to the other end of the spectrum as a reaction to extreme Islamism.
“They feel apathy towards the nation, some losing loyalty towards it, explains Amin.
Naturally, Shehata exclaims. “If there is no ownership, no sense of identity, no benefit, of course there will be no loyalty?
But Copts are Egyptian, they are not a religious minority in the sense that other minorities are, “they have no other country to go to , Soleiman cautions.
“We have nearly hit the bottom , after that, “there will have to be a compromise.
So much so, that the Muslim Brotherhood, has understood this, and is now trying to include Copts and win them back with the redundant arguments of “we have always been Arab .
But the Copts seem unconvinced.
“The system pushes you out, says Shehata while the Brotherhood is vague about how they will deal with the Coptic issue just as they are about women.
And pushed out many have been. In pursuit of “another identity , many Copts around the world now identify with a Coptic flag alongside the Egyptian flag, even though the Coptic Church does not recognize this banner.
The flag reflects opposition against political life in Egypt and the Egyptian flag, which they believe stresses on the “Arabism factor, alienating the non-Arab Copts.
“Difficult circumstances have certainly led all Egyptians to a change in behavior and loyalty, weaker towards the state and stronger towards religion, states Amin.
Or perhaps they just don’t have the capacity to strengthen this loyalty. Amin describes today’s state as a “soft and weak .
Failures left a weak army, a poor economy, and external debts allowed the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to pressure the state to withdraw from health, education and privatization. “Only a strong state can bring loyalty back, concluded Amin.
But author Sherief Younis disagrees with Amin’s predication saying “true loyalty comes only when the government takes its hands off.
Separating the masses from a religious identity is the only way for real political participation. Younis thinks people only feel gratitude for Islamists services – which fill the social services gap left by the governments – not loyalty.
But is there even a need for a “national identity ?
Younis believes there is no need to proclaim one.
Individuals belong to many loyalties that are constantly changing – “why identify with one stagnant definition ?
Nevertheless identifying with many loyalties can lead to confusion. When the value system at home conflicts with a suffocating conservatism on the one hand, and open media and liberal thoughts on the other, youth may develop a sense of loss or bewilderment.
Regularly used Internet blogs have served this loss giving youth a chance to disguise their identities, to identify with what they may be missing or where they want to belong.
“We shouldn’t over exaggerate; Egyptians are still non-violent, passive, forgiving and white hearted . and generous with strangers. Amin smiles and says,
“Egyptians’ identity has not changed, their loyalty might have.
